


Exchange

by aishahiwatari



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Meetings, Holidays, M/M, Pre-Slash, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 2,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28357668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aishahiwatari/pseuds/aishahiwatari
Summary: A series of 200-ish word, wintery, imperfect mini-fics I wrote for the USS McKirk Discord Holiday Card Exchange.
Relationships: James T. Kirk/Leonard "Bones" McCoy
Comments: 15
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was updated as cards containing each fic arrived: we were at the mercy of the Royal Mail and international delivery partners.
> 
> Prompts are from [this list](https://veronicabunchwrites.tumblr.com/post/179652750577)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for one brief mention of daddy kink, this chapter. 
> 
> For Anna. She organised this exchange; runs games night; is generally wonderful and all she ever asks for is an all-out Civil War. And an update to my vampire fic (I KNOW I'M SORRY).
> 
> 01\. we just had a one-night stand but a massive storm hit so now we’re snowed in, hello awkward

Shit. Shit, fuck, shit. Jim is definitely getting murdered. Why did he think this was a good idea?

Okay, yeah. Jim knows why. Night of passion with the hot doctor who didn’t mind when Jim slipped up in the heat of the moment and called him daddy. That could have been awkward.

It could pretty much have turned awkward at any point, actually, from kind of mutually picking each other up in the bar during après-ski to stumbling back to this (rustic, terrifyingly isolated) cabin, to falling into bed and forgetting all about making any remotely sensible decisions.

The storm wasn’t due to hit until tomorrow. But now it’s morning, and Jim can’t even open the front door or see out of any of the windows for all the snow, and he’s trapped with a stranger whose skilled surgeon’s hands could just as easily pull him apart as put him back together.

There’s the sound of movement from behind him, and Jim almost doesn’t dare turn to meet his fate, but it’s just the hot doctor Jim now recalls aggressively nicknaming Bones leaning in the doorway, wearing sweatpants and nothing else, his hair far too artfully tousled for everything Jim remembers doing to it last night.

“Help me light the wood burner, and I’ll make coffee,” Bones says, yawning as he shuffles across the room without pretension or ceremony.

And suddenly Jim can’t think of a single reason to refuse.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Sam, who always leaves me such wonderful comments and is incredibly supportive, just an absolute ray of sunshine.
> 
> Prompt: 94. you overhear my ex mocking me for being single at a holiday party and introduce yourself as my SO with a kiss on the cheek but we’ve never spoken before

“Oh, Leo. I just don’t understand how you do it- alone at the Christmas party again.”

There are many, many possible responses to Gary’s comment and only a certain percentage of them involve resorting to violence, but Leonard’s not decided what to do before his hand is stayed, figuratively and literally, by the application of an arm around his waist and a warm kiss pressed to his cheek.

“There you are, babe. Been looking all over for you.”

On any other day, Leonard might run screaming from the display of affection. But the expression on Gary’s face is worth any personal discomfort. “I’ll bet. Buy you a drink?” he asks the young man pressed firmly against his side and hauls him away before there can be any questions on the matter.

On the way to the bar, he manages a query of his own, though. “Who the hell are you?”

“Jim Kirk. Did I do a good job of rescuing you?”

“Oh, sure. So, what, you’re just a good Samaritan saving a poor disgruntled doctor from looking like he’s single at the end of another year?”

“If that’s all you want me to be,” Jim says, with a smile and a wink and a well-rehearsed bite of his bottom lip that suggests he already knows what Leonard wants.

Leonard hates that he’s right.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Bev, our resident celebrity who regularly sinks to our level and always honours us with her presence. An absolute legend, and a impossibly kind human.
> 
> Prompt: 53. your scream woke up the entire building because you’re so damn excited about the first snow fall and i’m going to give you a piece of my mind except you’re really cute

Now, Leonard is pretty good at sleeping through anything. Provided he’s not on call in a busy ER and nobody’s trying to get his attention, that is. He compartmentalises, and he works shifts, so it’s sleep through everyone else’s daily routine -the lawnmowers, the revving engineers, the loud conversations held across streets- or nothing, more often than not.

A scream, though, will wake him right up, get him out of bed and moving, out into the hall of his apartment building to see the figure standing on the communal balcony.

Now this figure it very much not being threatened, or hunted by a large predator, or bleeding heavily. In fact, he’s got his head tilted back, his face and beatific smile turned up to the sky.

So Leonard’s about to divert his sudden rush of adrenaline into giving this guy a piece of his mind-

Except he turns. And goddamnit, he’s cute. And delighted.

“It’s snowing!”

So Leonard sighs, and steps up beside him, and sure enough. First snow of the season. With a warm shoulder bumping against his, their neighbourhood beginning to sparkle with refracted light, Leonard is willing to concede that maybe, possibly, it’s a little magical.

“I’m Jim,” the owner of the shoulder ventures with a cautiously optimistic nudge, a winning smile and sparkling eyes.

“Don’t push it.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Kenz, who's relatively new to the Discord but one of the few who dared to stay, is always a sweetheart, an absolute delight and a pleasure to have around.
> 
> Prompt (which i took some liberties with): 84. I work at the gift wrapping station in the mall and you keep bringing the weirdest gifts but this time you ask me to wrap a single tiny plastic frog in a big box and I have to ask who would want this?

“Okay, Bones. This is getting ridiculous now.”

Jim sees some stupid shit as an employee of the gift-wrapping service at a very well-attended shopping mall, but this just takes the cake.

So far, Bones has brought him an implausibly adorable skeleton plush; an admittedly cute dollhouse set; a jigsaw puzzle; a phone case with a unicorn on it; an alarm clock; a calendar containing numerous pictures of cute dogs and a vase that Jim frankly thinks is- well it’s just awful.

So, yeah, it’s been increasingly obvious that Bones just does this for an excuse to talk to him. He’s strangely shy for someone so outrageously hot, although they’ve been talking as Jim wraps. Bones has clearly been out of the dating scene for a while, works ridiculous shifts and from what he’s said, he has a daughter. Probably scares a few people off.

Not Jim, though. He’s actually just wondering how he can be any more blatantly interested by the time Bones hands him a box of chocolates that’s already in a pretty nice box, with a card that-

Oh. It says, “Jim. Would you like to get coffee, sometime?”

And, yes. Jim really, really would.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Gnome, who is always so kind and ready to listen, an all-around wonderful person.
> 
> Prompt: 42. i found a cat shivering in the snow and you’re the cutest vet i’ve ever seen

Jim almost misses it.

Well, he’s on a motorcycle, so he steers around it easily enough despite the beginnings of snow on the road, but he almost doesn’t stop, and turn, and drive a little way back to examine the small, dark shape.

“Oh! Fuck!” he says, when he does, skidding the bike to a stop and dismounting to dart out and grab the tiny, huddled, shivering lump of kitten that presses closer to him gratefully, barely mewing as he holds it cradled against his chest.

It’s in a bad way, so he fishes his phone out of his pocket and tries to find an out-of-hours veterinarian willing to see him and his new friend at eight pm on Christmas Eve.

He- does find somewhere. It’s closed, but there’s someone in scrubs rummaging for something behind the counter and although he visibly sighs when Jim knocks, he does at least open the door.

“Well hey there. Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get you clean and dry.”

Jim blinks, because that’s a heck of a greeting. He’s not complaining because this guy is smoking hot and delightfully Southern but-

“I was talking to the cat.” The vet arches a brow at him. “Humans gotta at least buy me coffee before they get that kinda treatment.”

“How about dinner?” Jim says, instinctively, and he earns a snort that at least doesn’t sound like a no as he’s led inside.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Demi. Words literally cannot express how much I love and appreciate the incredible human being who keeps me (moderately) sane.
> 
> Prompt: 59. this year my family has decided we’re celebrating the holidays on a cruise and you’re the cute bartender who teases me for mourning the lack of snow

It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining, beating down and only pleasantly warm with the accompanying sea breeze. All around the deck of the cruise ship, people meander, socialize, lay out on sunbeds in swimwear, cocktails of lurid colours cradled in well-manicured hands.

Leonard hates it. Every moment he spends in this sea-salt and coconut scented Hell is one of unspeakable torture. 

He should have told his mother to bring someone else. Even if all his staff agreed a little too vigorously that he needed the vacation.

"Sorry to disparage your weather systems, but this ain't exactly the traditional Christmas I'm used to." Far too late, he attempts an apology to the poor bartender who's been listening to his by-now less than coherent complaints with a convincing level of interest and a smile somehow both genuine and sympathetic.

"Disparage away," the poor man laughs as he says, in nothing like the Australian twang Leonard was expecting, his mind addled by sea and sun, blond hair and tanned skin and implausibly blue eyes. "It's not exactly a Midwestern winter, either. But it pays the bills. And I get to make some- interesting new friends."

He doesn't even bother to hide his blatant once-over, bites his lip in a coy kind of flirtation Leonard wouldn't even consider indulging, usually.

But fuck it. It's Christmas. This can be his present to himself. "What time do you get off?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Tri, who has been a wonderful source of hope, inspiration and creativity this year. I'm so grateful!
> 
> Prompt: 85. we haven’t been friends for years but we both end up at a mutual friend’s holiday party and you apologize for how things went down between us (which I wasn’t expecting in a million years)

“He’s here?” Jim says, and Uhura nods. Maybe she says something, but Jim’s already moving, so he doesn’t catch it.

He hasn’t been home in a long time. Since high school, pretty much. This, Uhura’s festive season party, is his first real re-introduction, and so far he’s made small-talk and caught up with people he vaguely remembers but if he’s honest, this-

This is why he’s really here. To see- well, Jim’s not sure if he really has the right to call him Bones, anymore, after all this time, but it’s how he’s always thought of him and he’s in the kitchen, leaning against the counter sipping whiskey. His eyes widen when he sees Jim, and they widen more when Jim speaks.

“Don’t say anything. Okay, I know I fucked up, back then, and you hate me. It’s bothered me this whole time that we stopped talking after what happened with your cousin-”

“What? Jim-”

“And I just want you to know that I’m not like that anymore, and I’m just sorry and-”

“Jim!” Bones interrupts him more forcefully, but there’s a soft, kind of rueful smile on his face. “Don’t be so damn dramatic. I never hated you. I just- fuck. Good a time as any to confess. I had a very embarrassing crush on you and I just never seemed to be able to speak while you were in the room.”

Oh. Oh, that changes so much. Jim’s been carrying this for years. And all he can think to ask is: “Had?”

It comes out much less confidently than Jim would like, but Bones is older now. Calmer. He laughs, and shrugs. “Well. Get yourself a drink, and I guess we’ll find out.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Lena, who now has a small collection of my gift fics and deserves every single one and more. A wonderful, funny and incredibly well-dressed person we are so lucky to have on the server.
> 
> Prompt: 13. my family invites you to join our holiday meal as an obvious setup and i’m so sorry

“Chris. This is- just embarrassing. I don’t need you to set me up on a date with some random guy. I haven’t even been single that long, and we’ve just skipped straight to dinner with my family? It’s going to be so fucking awk-“

Now, at that point Jim pauses. Because they’re in the hall, Chris taking his coat like any good host, even one who sets up terrible blind dates, but Jim can see a stranger has just walked through from the dining room to the kitchen and, well-

He’s incredibly hot. Like, supermodel on a day off, if supermodels wore terrible Christmas sweaters with jeans that showed off the very shapely curve of their ass when they reached into the fridge for a beer.

“You know what? It’s just dinner, right? What could be the harm?”

Chris has the gall to roll his eyes at Jim’s gracious defeat.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Pascale, who is always kind, patient and willing to explain Gen Z memes to the rest of us. A delightful human with an incredible mind.
> 
> Prompt: 26. i’m constantly dragging all my friends to your hockey games because i think you’re so much fun to watch and i don’t think you’ll ever notice me

“Since when do you care so much about hockey?”

“Since always.”

“Really? What’s the Iowa team called.”

“Panthers.”

“I- have no idea if that’s wrong. You want a hot chocolate?”

Jim’s answering look conveys the fact that he’s amazed Sulu even has to ask, and with a roll of his eyes, he goes, and Jim is left alone to watch the- pitch. Rink. Whatever. He doesn’t actually care about hockey, he cares about-

“Hi there.”

Okay, he cares about the implausibly hot hockey player who’s just fallen into the seat next to him, still in full gear. Shit, is it half time already?

“Wanted to thank you for your support. You’ve been at our last ten games.”

“You noticed?” Jim says, then cringes. Smooth.

“Could say the same about you.” McCoy -according to his jersey and the various social media accounts Jim is stalking him on- arches a brow, somehow balancing cautious flirtation and curiosity about a hundred times better than Jim.

So- “I like your energy,” Jim says, rather than, “I’ve seen you both threaten to kill someone and treat his broken nose in the space of four minutes and both times for some reason I wanted that to be me.”

McCoy smiles like Jim said all that anyway. “What are you doing after the game?”

“Having a drink with you?”

“I’d tell you what time the game finishes but- I think you already know.”

Jim does. He can’t wait.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Lauren, who works so hard but always has time to be lovely to us even when we're talking about nonsense. And who always brings her dogs to games night, for which we are eternally grateful.
> 
> Prompt: 80. you’re the security guard on campus who walks people to their car/bus stop so they feel safe and I really didn’t need the buddy system but you’re hella cute

“Look, I really don’t need your help. It’s five pm. I’m not likely to get murdered walking across the lot.”

“It’s no trouble, doc. Hospital administration says I gotta walk you to your car. And I don’t mind getting some fresh air while I’m doing it.”

Leonard is, to say the least, not convinced. But the night security guard at the hospital is, also to say the least, insanely hot.

His name is Jim, Leonard establishes, during their walk to his car, not Janice like his borrowed name badge suggests. And his favourite time of year is winter, because it’s so cosy inside, and the decorations are so pretty, and he has a weakness for a seasonal latte.

He goes to the local coffee shop before his shifts, actually. At about two pm. Leonard might just happen to see him there.

When he says that, Jim shoots him a dazzling smile and a wink like he’s just as pleased about the prospect as Leonard.

**Author's Note:**

> If you love McKirk and want to chat with some delightful people, check my [tumblr](https://aishahiwatari.tumblr.com/) for the Discord invite link.


End file.
